Progression
by Faocha
Summary: Claire and Rick have been happily married for almost a season but the honeymoon's over with the return of Kai. Can Claire resolve this horrible feud for Popuri's sake? It seems like the pineapples aren't the only things that need to mature.
1. Summer 1

I apologize in advance if this intro is a bit wordy. Feel free to skip it.

I've been writing for a while but this is the first piece of fanfiction (or any sort of fiction) that I've decided to put online.

I think that Rick and his family deserve more attention. _Essentially this story will examine Rick, Kai and Popuri and their individual faults. Each of their personalities will clash and there will be wonderful character development._ Claire will be a silent character for the most part and a sort of buffer/peacemaker. I don't know how much Jack and Karen will affect the main plot but they'll be heavily involved in the side story.

I rated this as teen to be safe but there won't be anything overtly sexual and it's unlikely that there will be cursing.

Please don't be rude but I will take all comments to heart while writing so feel free to tell me what you think.

* * *

On the morning of Summer 1 Claire woke up immediately at 6am. Sunlight streamed through the window as she fixed up two omelettes, humming all the while. It wasn't until she had taken her first eggy bite that she realized what was amiss. She walked over to the bed to see that her husband had yet to even get dressed. Instead he lay motionless under the sheets. Fearing the worst from his uncharacteristically lazy behavior Claire climbed onto the bed and shook him.

"What is wrong with you? Leave me alone!" yelped the enraged chicken rancher as he got up. Claire was taken aback. Their marriage happened less than a season ago and she wasn't expecting the bickering to start quite so soon. She glared at him and returned to her breakfast. Rick soon joined her, looking dejected.

"I'm very sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Claire sighed and went to wash her dish.

"This… this is delicious! Are these Zelda's eggs?" asked Rick, referring to Claire's first prize winning hen. Claire turned and smiled while nodding. Everyone had the occasional bad morning, even ever dependable Rick. She skipped to the chest to retrieve the tools she'd need for the day and went back to the table, holding her map of the farm.

She rolled it out and pointed excitedly at the field which was covered in plots of wonderful summer crops. It was her most bold farming plan yet. Almost the entire field would be utilized and most exhilarating of all would be the 12 3x3 plots devoted to pineapples. The thought of the profit she'd make made her want to whistle a tune! When she motioned to her crop crown jewels Rick's face turned sour.

"I can't believe I forgot! I've had a month to prepare and I forgot. All the celebration and moving made me forget of the _Scourge of the Summer_!" he fumed as he ran out the door.

* * *

Claire walked out of her home with her heart feeling heavy. Looking out at the neighboring farm she saw that Jack was almost done with his seed sowing. He ran over red-faced and panting.

"Heard Rick leave a few minutes ago," he said while laughing. Claire rummaged through her rucksack until she retrieved her trusty hammer. "Hey, hey now!" he backed away and held up his gloved hands. "I mean no offence He's been mellowing out since you guys have been together. Y'know, giving more responsibilities to Popuri on the ranch and all that. I was surprised by the return of good ol' crazy haired, ranting and raving Rick. Looks like your womanly charms have no effect on his hatred for Kai, huh?"

Claire then swung with enough fury to destroy a decent sized rock but Jack, expecting such retribution quickly jumped out of the way. Regardless, they were separated by the small river that divided their respective farms. The tool hit the water with Claire's raw power and she became drenched as a result. Jack, who was far enough away to avoid the splash began laughing so hard that he fell over. Drawn out by all this commotion, Karen ran over and began to admonish her husband. Jack quickly got up and returned to his work.

"I'm so sorry about his immaturity. Would you like me to get a towel for you?" she asked. Claire shook her head and pointed at the sun, which she unhappily noticed was already pretty high in the sky, as if to say that her clothes and hair will dry quickly in the summer heat. Once Karen left, Claire sat under her apple tree and began to sort out her thoughts.

Jack was certainly not to blame although she knew she'd have to get even with him soon. He had been her rival ever since she had bought the run down farm on a whim after seeing the newspaper ad. Jack had been there for exactly a year at that point and definitely didn't offer any advice or help. He wasn't outright cruel by any means but he said point blank that he had been planning to buy the property as his operation was expanding _so_ rapidly. It surely was depressing that first week to see her meager two turnip plots that she could barely keep up with while his garden _and_ livestock flourished.

She laughed aloud at the distant memory. They were still rivals but it was much more positive nowadays. The pushed each other to do their best. When she thought of the infamous "harvest sprite wars" of the previous year… Well the harvest goddess has yet to remove the giant rock barricading the path next to the church.

No it was Rick who was the one who needed to be dealt with. Though try as she might, she couldn't think of a simple way to solve the problem of her husband's obnoxious behavior. She sighed and began her farm work.

* * *

As fate would have it, Popuri woke up with a bad cold that morning. Eagerly awaiting Kai's return she stayed up all night on the dock like a child on Christmas Eve despite knowing full well that the ferry would arrive at 8am. Accompanied with her favorite book of fairy tales and a few candles she lasted until 12am. Although it was technically summer and she did bring a blanket, Zack left his house in the morning to find her sniffling and shivering while she slept.

She woke up in her snug bed. She stayed cocooned like that for several minutes, letting her dreams continue on into her daydreams. Moving her arm to scratch her elbow she noticed that she was wearing her everyday dress. When she finally realized the date she jumped out and ran downstairs to find her mother already manning the register.

"Dear, you really ought to stay in bed. You aren't well."

In response, Popuri sneezed three times and reached for the doorknob.

"Now stop that right this instance," Lillia snapped. She got up from her chair and walked to the door. "What you did was dangerous. Why I shudder to think what would've happened if it wasn't Zack who found you and brought you back." Her hardened expression made Popuri feel worse than the words themselves. It was so rare for her mother to be anything but smiling. She really admired her mother's fortitude in the face of her illness. But the town was so small peaceful that she inwardly scoffed at the idea of anything more dangerous than a bee sting occurring.

As if reprimanding her daughter took too much out of her, Lillia returned to her chair. She sighed and resumed smiling.

"You remind me of my younger days. I would wait for days for my darling to return from his father's fishing expeditions…" Popuri smiled as she blew her nose. She loved hearing about her parent's courtship. It always sounded like something out of a fairy tale.

With that thought Popuri remembered her book.

"Mom, did Zack have my fairy tales with him when he came here?"

"No but you certainly gave him enough to carry with those candles and blanket, dear."

Popuri raced outside without another thought.

* * *

Rick was standing outside of Kai's restaurant. Having arrived a little before 8am he paced the dock for about two hours while waiting for the boat that carried the loathsome vagrant. Then he spent another hour knocking furiously on the door as Kai had obviously arrived early. However his anger fueled adrenaline eventually ran out and his hand ached horribly so he opted for scrutinizing the building.

"What a horrible eyesore. What kind of ruffian paints a nice Gotz-made house such an obnoxious white? Probably crawling with salmonella inside... I bet he doesn't even have proper tables and chairs for his poor, poor customers," he muttered.

It was at this point that Popuri arrived at the beach.

"Rick!" Popuri said as menacingly as she could with her stuffy nose.

"Popuri, you're going to tell me right now where Kai is!"

"Oh just be quiet!" and with that she ran to the dock.

Rick walked over and watched as his sister angrily thrashed at the ocean with her hands while sneezing and crying. All of his anger was replaced with sadness. The blubbering mess resembled a small child more than a capable adult.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"My fairy," she sneezed "tales. They're gone."

Rick sat beside Popuri and gave her a hug. He ended up getting snot on his clothes and hair but he barely noticed. He knew how important that book was to his sister. It was the last gift their father gave her before he left.

* * *

"Hey good looking," came a voice from behind her. Claire turned around to see a familiar purple bandana-ed face. Despite the horrible start to her day, she'd been working at a better pace than she had on Spring 1. Seeing Kai lifted her spirits a little further although it was accompanied with her anxiety about Rick. His charisma and sunny attitude was always refreshing.

"Wow the farm looks fantastic! Talk about beauty, brains, and brawn."

Claire smiled, sighed and then showed off her left hand on which was a blue feather ring.

"Whoa I mean no disrespect to the Missus!" He looked genuinely shocked although he continued with his banter. "Who's the lucky Mineral Townie?"

She gave him a look as if to say 'Who do you think, numbskull?'

"No, no, no say it ain't so! You mean to say that such a high-strung, overbearing, chauvinistic, small minded, poultry obsessed, turtleneck wearing, long haired loser tricked you into marrying him? I honestly thought you'd come to reason before such a tragedy occurred," he said loudly. She knew he was being over the top but that he wasn't too far off from his actual feelings. She put her hand up to stop him from continuing and went back to work.

"I actually saw the little bugger earlier today," he continued on. "Or, well I heard him. The ferry arrived early and I was going to surprise Popuri. But then the voice that I usually only hear in my worst nightmares… I ran into the woods to avoid him and now here I am. Though I guess I should leave if this is where the devil now resides."

Claire turned around to glare but he simply laughed. "Could you tell Popuri to meet me at the inn?" he seemed more serious now. "I really don't want to have to deal with him today."

Claire, her mood now very low indeed simply nodded. The problem wasn't just Rick.


	2. Summer 2

Rick was late getting out of bed for the second time in a row. While yesterday's delayed start was caused by his subconscious hatred of summer and all that comes with it, this morning he was tired both physically and emotionally from the events of the day before.

He looked over to see Claire unceremoniously downing a loaf of bread as she left the farmhouse still bleary eyed. A similar loaf was left on his side of the dining table. Now that he was up, he was wide awake and already going over his mental to do list. He grabbed his breakfast and went out the door.

Tending to Claire's chickens (which he saw as an extension of his own poultry family since they descended from Zelda, whom Claire bought from his mother) took no time at all. It was a minor source of shame to him that Jack and Claire's respective coops were larger than his own when he himself taught them proper poultry care. However he smiled knowing that would change soon enough.

* * *

Popuri was in a grumbly mood. That was the right way to put it. More than grumpy but not so angry that she'd dare defy her mother again and leave the ranch house. She sat on her bed in a clean dress despite the fact that she had a pretty bad cold. She'd be more comfortable in pajamas but she wanted to look her best in case Kai climbed up to the window to see her. He had done it once before in the last week of the previous summer when Liilia had to go through overnight tests at the clinic and Rick spent the majority of the night at the bar with Karen. It was magically romantic.

A knock at the door made her jump.

"Could it be…?" she whispered while reflexively fixing her hair.

Her brother appeared looking sheepish. She audibly sighed.

"I'm not sure you're aware of this but you don't live here anymore and I have every right to kick you out. It just so happens that one of the requirements to be allowed in here is to believe in the beauty and truth of young love and seeing that you have always been a crotchety old man you really can't-"

Rick's apron pocket began cheeping and Popuri stopped her tirade. Her eyes got big and she put her hands over her mouth to stiffen her happy squealing. He pulled out a small bit of yellow fluff. It looked around warily until it saw Popuri who quickly scooped it up. The pair made joyful but incoherent noises as they played together.

Popuri looked up after a while, the chick, who was named Dandelion, continued walking on her outstretched arm. Rick was sitting on his old bed in what appeared to be deep thought.

"Thanks. You know chickens aren't allowed inside the house though," she whispered to prevent their mother from overhearing.

"Look who's suddenly paying attention to the rules," he softly replied. Popuri stuck out her tongue before giggling as Dandelion reached her shoulder. "We've done this before and Mom hasn't worsened…" he suddenly sounded anxious. "And besides we've never let them on her bed and we always wash our hands and the sheets and-"

"Hey, I was just joking. Relax. The chickens are her livelihood and you know how happy she gets when she sees them in the yard. We've never gotten sick from them. What does Doctor Trent know? To say _they're teeming with potential diseases_," she said in a mocking version of the physician's formal tone. "I don't know why she pays him for all the use he's been."

Rick responded with a disapproving glare and Popuri continued before he could lecture her.

"Anyway, the point is… thanks. You haven't done this in a long time. I actually forgot that you ever snuck in chicks whenever I was sick and couldn't see my chicken friends."

"Well you haven't been ill in a long time. And I've done it so many times it's a tradition isn't it?" Rick touched his old nightstand, leaving fingerprints in the thin layer of dust. "Just because I don't live here doesn't mean I'm going to ignore our traditions."

Popuri saw that her brother was hurt and acted accordingly. She palmed Dandelion and walked over to Rick. The chick saw the man that had kept it in his pocket and began running up Popuri's arm to safety.

"See that?" she smiled playfully. "You've been busy being married and looking after crops and cattle for a season now. Meanwhile the new generation over here has been growing up healthy and strong _without_ you."

"That's not true. I'm here every day," he mumbled.

"Yeah looking over the records and stuff," she declared triumphantly. "I've been taking care of this ranch and keeping it running… Successfully, you may have noticed."

"I know. It's wonderful." Rick got up and turned to leave. Popuri grabbed his arm.

"Hey, I'm just teasing, you know that right?"

Rick laughed softly and nodded. Popuri held Dandelion and calmed it down enough to allow it to go back in Rick's pocket and the two left.

* * *

Claire glanced out the window to see the orange, evening sky.

"Distracted by my gorgeous field Claire?" came a smug voice behind her. Jack walked over while carrying a stack of plates. He continued as he distributed the dishes amongst the dinner guests. "You know, I've been speaking to Gotz about the possibility of a third expansion to my barn."

Claire got up from her chair to help Karen with bringing out the food. Rick perked up though.

"What about your coop?" he asked.

"Oh I don't really see the point. The cows and sheep are the serious moneymakers on the farm," Jack replied thoughtlessly. Both Claire and Karen turned to see Rick's reaction to such disrespect to poultry kind and were surprised to see him smile.

"Oh, okay then. Good luck with the expansion."

The four sat down to eat. Soon after Rick and Claire's marriage, Karen had gotten the idea to invite the newlyweds over to dinner since they were the only young married couples in town and everybody was friends. It quickly turned into a weekly event as well as a competition between Jack and Claire over who could serve the best food when the dinner took place in their home. Rick and Karen gladly put up with it for the delicious meals.

Conversation was pleasant once Jack's boasting was done and everyone began to eat.

"What did you do today, Rick?" Karen asked after regaling the group with the story of her convincing a decently inebriated Duke to pay for the most expensive bouquet they had for Manna.

"Oh. I tended to Claire's chickens and… my chickens. I had to plant the corn at the ranch – for chicken feed you know and uh…" he seemed very out of it.

"Haha, how was that? You guys have such a small field for crops it probably took two seconds," interrupted Jack.

"Oh no, more like two hours… It's really back breaking work… for me at least. I delivered a letter to Zack from my mom."

"What was it about?" asked Karen looking concerned.

"A thank you I presume. For bring Popuri home yesterday."

Everyone got quiet at that. In such a small town, even the least social of them already knew about the happenings at the pier.

"I saw Kai as well." Rick went on. Everyone was slack jawed at how subdued he was being. "He was walking with Mary. I began chasing him but…" Bitterness could be heard in his tired voice now.

"How about some strawberry shortcake?" Karen interrupted. "And alcohol!" she continued energetically. Claire got up to help and Jack began a lecture about he really outdid himself with his latest gourmet dessert.

Karen began filling their wine glasses while Claire doled out the cake. Jack patiently waited for her to sit down and take a bite. Rick and Karen quickly began eating and complimenting his skills but he didn't move his eyes from Claire as she _slowly_ moved her laden fork to her face. She took a bite and smiled contentedly.

"Ha! I'm a culinary artiste!" he declared while thrusting his hands above his head. Claire shrugged and continued eating. Still grinning he went to take a bite himself. His face immediately turned red and he spat out his half chewed cake.

"H-H-HOT!" Jack yelled.

"Ew!" Karen shrieked at the mess.

Claire had a mad grin on her face having gotten back at Jack for yesterday's taunting. Hot sauce didn't look exactly like strawberry sauce but Claire was aware of how hubris literally clouded Jack's awareness of what was going on around him.

The rest of the evening was less pleasant with Karen in a huff, Jack swearing undying revenge and Claire cackling evilly. Rick seemed oblivious to it all, lethargically staring at a handsome cuckoo clock on the wall.

* * *

Popuri went downstairs to see her mother doing a needlepoint in her husband's armchair.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes dear?"

"Did Kai stop by today?"

"No my sweet chickadee." Lillia looked at her downtrodden daughter. "You can visit the inn. But please promise to come home soon, it's getting late."

"I promise!" Popuri said gleefully as she went outside. She felt the cool evening air on her face, heard the babbling river, smelt, well nothing since her nose was still stuffed up. She frowned. Something was wrong.

She heard the ferocious cries of the wild dog pack that prowled the town at night. She hesitated but went back to smiling. Her mother kept a bell upstairs that easily scared them away. No big deal.

Something brushed her leg. She jumped, scaring away the chicken.

"What?" she breathed. It was getting darker by the minute but she realized that several white forms were walking around, clucking obliviously. Rick didn't put the chickens back inside.

Popuri stood still, her mind in a blind panic. There were at least four chickens outside the coop. She rushed toward them, cooing like she usually did when rounding them up. They apparently could hear the alarm in her voice and began to run aimlessly. She turned to see the dogs had reached the edge of the yard. The porch light glistened off of their bared teeth.

Popuri ran inside the house and up the stairs. She tripped several times on her long dress but reached the top safely. She looked frantically for the bell. It was large and shiny and _why was it so hard to find?_ She ran around the room a few times before dashing downstairs to see her concerned mother.

"Popuri what's wrong?"

"The bell Mom! Where's the bell?" she wailed. Her mother look flabbergasted.

"Over here dear," she pulled it out from the nearby shelf. "I needed it for-"

Popuri snatched the bell and ran outside while swinging it furiously.

"Go away! Leave my friends alone, you horrible things!" she shrieked into the night. The mutts scattered and Popuri saw the aftermath.

She sobbed unapologetically. The sorrow and pain made her dizzy. She kneeled next to each of the broken bodies to see if any of them could be saved. She knew each of their names and could recognize them even while they were bloodied and motionless. She cried for each of them as the individuals they were.

Hestia was two years old and an excellent layer. She was always so calm but prone to jealousy when ignored. Bianca was almost a year old and had a temper. She always made sure that the chicks got food before her. Maya was their eldest chicken at four years. She let everyone know the pecking order with her grace and dignity. Wanda was the first chicken Popuri had cared for completely by herself. She was a season old and so healthy and strong that there was a small bidding war between two nearby farms for her. She was the most difficult corpse to look at. She remembered how sad she was at the idea of her leaving for another ranch just a few days ago.

Her mother stepped outside and Popuri went to her side, still shaky but no longer crying. Lillia shuddered and began breathing very fast. Popuri hugged her tightly.

"It'll be okay Mom. Everything will be okay. Let's go inside and I'll make you some tea."


End file.
